High School Labels
by sjustine98
Summary: Chad and Taylor are together. Troy and Gabriella know the risks. If everyone at East High, the student body, found out they would freak out. So it's up to Gabriella, the shy freaky genius and Troy, the school's popular basketball captain, to make sure none of East High students freak out. Can they handle this situation without hurting anyone?
1. Chapter 1 - Survive and Thrive

_A/N: Hello! This is my first HSM fic and I hope that it gets to be a successful story. I haven't found a beta-reader but I have read this chapter enough times to be confident enough to publish it._

_Disclaimer: The High School Musical franchise and the characters included in this story are not mine, except for characters that you do not recognize from the movies._

_Enjoy! :) _

* * *

**Chapter One - "Survive and Thrive"**

I freaked out. I, Gabriella Montez, am a bad friend. Bad. The news my best friend, Taylor McKessie, was not taken lightly by me. I freaked out and I know she is going to hate me. Hate me! One of my only few friends at East High, one of my best friends, is going, or already does hates me! Despite me being the new girl for more than a year at my school, I didn't have to be a freaky genius to know the rules of East High, I have already figured out how the student body would react to the news. Okay, maybe not the rules of the teachers, but by the students. It was canon that no popular people, specifically the jocks, cheerleaders and rich kids, otherwise known as East High's kings, queens, princes, and princesses, are to date unpopular kids, the peasants of the kingdom.

The nerds are the lowest of the low, and that includes Taylor and me. But that does not mean we are less important than the royalties of East High. We are like the insects of a jungle, without us, the system will just blow and without the system, everything will be in chaos. Therefore, to avoid chaos, we nerds must stay away from the popular crowd. We must survive this hell we call school in order for us to be successful in anyway.

I wasn't always in the unpopular side, I was that nice girl everyone wanted to be friends with at my old schools. But since moving to Albuquerque and transferring to East High in my eleventh year of high school, I have decided to keep my head low and focus on studying, not that my grade was bad... I just needed to keep it up. You know, being that obsessive straight A-student.

I stood up from my bed and walked over to my bedroom door as someone from the other side knocked, most likely my mom, unless it was a ghost. Oh God, no. I am not going to scare myself this fine Sunday evening.

Mom popped her head in before I could open the door, and said, "Hey, sweetie, I'm heading out to go grocery shopping, need anything or did you want to come?"

It took a second for me to reply as my thoughts were still lost with Taylor's news, "Uhh, I think I'll be fine here, mom. Could just please buy me some energy nut bars, and blueberries, and please don't forget my strawberries?"

Mom laughed as she remembered the incident in which she bought strawberries and left it on the mall's bench to have a rest. She came back for it after she realized what happened but by the time she reached that bench, the plastic bag containing the strawberries were already gone.

"Sweetie, never!" she said with a smile. "I've prepared some dinner if you want to start eating while I shop."

"Thanks, mom, but I can wait for you."

And with that, I was once again left alone to my own thoughts. I went back to my sweet, sweet, bed and rested my chin on my soft pillow, trying to do some light reading for Biology. However, after only catching words like "Eukaryota cells" and "mitochondria" and something about "cell membranes", I have decided that my brain was just not functioning properly this fine Sunday evening. I turned around my bed so my back was on the bed, and my nape was on the pillow instead of my chin. I closed my eyes to recollect my thoughts and reorganize my state. After around ten minutes of thinking, I have decided to call Taylor. And this is how the conversation went:

Taylor: Gabs, if you think you're going to convince me-

Me: Tay, stop. I called you to apologize. Unless... you want me to convince you to not date Chad, then I'm all for it.

Taylor: Gabs, AAAAAAAAH! I FREAKING LOVE YOU!

By that point I have placed my phone away from my sensitive ear.

Me: I love you, too, Tay. But I'm telling you, be careful.

T: I know Chad has not exactly been the nicest guy to you, but if you get to know him, he is actually really sweet.

Huh, Danforth, sweet? I don't see it. The guy's a complete, _complete_, idiot and he is so far from nice, along with his best buddy, Troy Bolton.

M: Yeah, yeah. I'm still not tolerating the idiot. I still have not forgotten the gum-incident.

Bolton and Danforth pulled a prank on Taylor and I on my second week of schools that included gum being stuck on our pants. Those were my favorite pair of white pants, by the way. At the end of the day, after covering our bottoms with our jackets, we had to put it in the freezer. I read somewhere that freezing clothes that had gums stuck in them helped to remove the awful things.

T: Oh yeah, that. But boys are boys and if they liked a girl they will be mean to them.

M: Yes, boys are boys but that doesn't excuse their unpleasant behavior towards other people. Besides, there is no chance that neither Danforth nor Bolton will like me. I doubt that they even know my name.

T: Gabs, I am pretty sure that they do. They're in our homeroom and a few classes and there are only a few students in each class so how could they not know your name?

I heard the garage door open so I quickly bid my friend a goodbye and good night.

M: Tay, I have to go, mom's here. If you need a shoulder to cry on when you start receiving death threats, I'm here. Bye and Good night.

T: Hahaha! Good night, Gabs.

* * *

_Reviews are appreciated, thanks!_

_Hope all is well,_

_sjustine98_


	2. Chapter 2 - Strawberry-flavored shampoo

_Hello! I felt bad that the first chapter was a bit short. So here's the next chapter :)_

_Disclaimer: The High School Musical franchise and the characters included in this story are not mine, except for characters that you do not recognize from the movies._

_Enjoy! :)_

* * *

**Chapter Two – Strawberry-flavored shampoo**

Oh, hello, dreadful Monday, and goodbye sweet, sweet, bed, I will see you tonight. If what Taylor said was true, then the only other people who knew about her and Danforth's relationship are me and Bolton. Period. I don't need to over think it. The royalties of East High will not send death threats to my best friend. The peasants of East High will not distrust and disown us in their clan. And the teachers will not give us detention for failing the system. Okay, breathe, Gabriella. It was just a dream.

I said a cheery goodbye to my mom and told her to have a great day, before closing her car door and walking to the front doors of East High. Second week back from summer vacation and the school's still buzzing with anticipation for the upcoming school year. The cheerleaders were by the grass area, doing their usual activity, cheering for the Wildcats. Some guys and girls with glasses and braces were by the steps next to the statue of the school founder. Skateboarders had their beanies on even though the weather was still warm and humid. The students, who did not consider they to be part of any cliques, sang the school's cheer song alongside the cheerleaders.

As students of East High did their typical back-to-school-from-the-weekend, I did mine, which was to go to my locker and wait for my friends. I opened my locker when I reached it, and a folded paper found its way on the floor before I can catch it. Unfolding the paper, it read, "Montez, need to talk to you. –Bolton"

Huh, he did know my name and my locker number, apparently. Unfortunately for me, I don't know _his_ locker number so I have no idea how to contact him. I can talk to him. No, too risky. I can't be seen with that lunkhead and he can't be seen with geeky Gabriella. Oh well, we'll figure it out later. I stuffed the piece of paper in my pants pocket before anyone can see the note and as I did, Sharpay Evans, one of my best friends, walked towards me.

"Hey, Gabriella. How was your weekend?" she greeted.

"Sharpay, we talked on Saturday and nothing much happened on Sunday. It was just me being me stuck in my room all day. Tell me yours, I'm sure you've had a pretty interesting weekend," I said.

"Actually, I didn't do anything exciting. Mom and dad are on a 'business trip' to Paris. On which I call bullshit because if I didn't know any better, I'd believe them, but I did, so I don't believe them."

"I'm not even going to ask what you think they're actually doing there," I said with a scrunched up nose.

Tipping her head back, she giggled and said, "They are on a 'romantic escapade', Gabs. I wonder where Ry is." On 'romantic escapade', she motioned with her index and middle fingers to make the air quotation gesture.

As if on cue, Ryan Evans, with Kelsi Nielson on his side, headed towards us. They had smiles on their faces and I can Kelsi giggling about something Ryan said to her. Our group of friends believed that Ryan and Kelsi was a couple, they just would not admit it. And they were perfect at being a couple. They would always sit next to each other, whether in the classroom or in the cafeteria. They would hold hands, and they probably didn't know that. At the end of the day, they would always wander off without us. Also, they had a lot in common, such as, music and theatre work for Ms Darbus. While Kelsi composed, Ryan sang. They were a perfect couple, they complimented each other well.

Just as the two were a meter from us, Taylor appeared next to me with a big smile across her gorgeous face, making her eyes twinkle with excitement.

"Woah, someone woke up with glitter on their face," Sharpay declared.

I laughed, and greeted Taylor with a hug. The bell rang, marking the time for homeroom. Taylor, Sharpay and I scuttled to our classroom before Ms Darbus could give us detention. We made our way in just before the second bell.

My day at school ended with me not talking with Troy Bolton. Sure, we were in a few classes together but with him being on the other side of the room with his friends. During lunch I hung with my friends and he sat with his basketball teammates. After school, he had basketball practice until 4:30 and I couldn't wait for him because of my job. We were just too busy and too many people were around so we couldn't actually talk without spiking up some silly gossip.

So here I was, behind the counter of a music store, wondering how I could possibly talk to Bolton. I took out my Biology book instead. Not far into the page, I heard someone clear their throat in front of me. I look up from my book, ready to address my customer, only to find the one and only Troy Bolton. He was in a gray shirt, with water (or sweat) on the neckline, and was still in his East High basketball uniform. His hair was unkempt and wet from a shower; I knew this because I smelt the strawberry flavored shampoo. Why Troy Bolton, hottest guy around, basketball star player, had strawberry-flavored shampoo, I did not know.

I raised a brow, waiting for him to speak. When he did not speak, I kind of got the idea that he was waiting for me to say something. I didn't know what to say to Mr Star Player, so I said what I say to my customers, "How may I help you?"

He laughed. What was so funny? He must have seen my expression and stopped. He ruffled his hair and replied, "I didn't know you worked here, Montez?"

"Uh, now, you do?" it was supposed to be a comeback, but I guess I didn't have it in me.

He laughed again. Seriously, what was so funny? Before he could reply, I said, "Glad I amuse you so much, Bolton. Now, what do you want?"

I _did_ have it in me!

"Aren't you supposed to address your customers with respect, Montez? Actually, I'm here to pick up some orders, a Dunlop black and deep blue picks," he said.

I closed my books and bent down to the counter shelf to look for the package. It was covered in brown paper and on top it had a sticker that had Bolton's name and his order. Mr Brien, an old man who owns the music store, must have forgotten to inform me about Bolton's order. Lately he had a lot in mind. I place the package on the counter in front of Bolton. He handed me two ten dollar notes as I type in the amount on the register. Woah, who pays ten bucks for a guitar pick?

Bolton took his receipt from the register and was about to walk off when I asked, "Hey, what did you want to talk about with me?"

"I almost forgot about that," he replied. I looked at him expectantly, so he added, "I wanted to ask if you can tutor me for Physics."

I must have inhaled too much of his strawberry-flavored shampoo because I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly. Troy Bolton, Mr Star Player, East High's Most Valuable Basketball Player, the King, wanted my help for school?

That was not what I was expecting.

* * *

_A/N: Hello, hope you had a happy reading! Please review, it's deeply appreciated!_

_Hope all is well,_

_sjustine98_


	3. Chapter 3 - Surprises

_Disclaimer: The High School Musical franchise and the characters included in this story are not mine, except for characters that you do not recognize from the movies._

_Enjoy! :)_

* * *

**Chapter Three - Surprises**

My encounter with Troy Bolton resulted in me agreeing to help him with Physics. At first, I was reluctant; I thought he was insulting me. I got the idea that he was making fun of my intelligence, my freaky genius thing. Bolton, however, explained to me the fact that he was failing Physics because he doesn't understand a single thing in the subject. He even showed me his latest quiz result, which was actually surprising. It was a B and he was far from failing the subject. Frankly, I was taken aback at the fact that Bolton seeks my help for Physics when in fact he wasn't even failing the class. I was also surprised that Bolton cared about his school grades. I thought that he only cared about basketball.

Anyways, being the person that I am, have agreed to tutor Mr Star Player outside of school hours. We worked out that the best days would be on Wednesdays and Thursdays afternoon. I have those days off and he doesn't have basketball practice until 5:30 pm. That gives us roughly around two hours. Seeing that I'm already tutoring him, he's also decided that our venue would be my house so it is more convenient for me. I don't have a car, whereas he does. Not only this, but he lived a couple blocks from me, making travel time longer. What do I get in return for tutoring the guy? Well, I still haven't decided it. It will come around.

Wait, I can't back out of this, can I? That would be 'un-Gabriella-like'. As I lay down on my bed, facing the ceiling, I realised that I have no idea how to tutor Troy Bolton. I need to know his weak spots on the subject and I need to know how to tackle those weak spots. In order to do that, I would have to test him. Okay, all I need are questions to give him, he answers those, and I'll check. Whatever he does incorrectly, I will have to explain to him why that is and what the correct answer is. I sighed, knowing that this will be a strange experience.

I had nearly dozed off to sleep when I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," I sleepily said.

"Dinner?" I heard my mom's voice from the door.

I slowly got up from my bed, feeling tired. From the top of the stairs I smelt the Italian-themed dinner mom had prepared. The smell of the pasta as it was boiling was overcome by the aroma of the matching sauce. Mom had just placed the bowl of pasta on the table and was humming 'The Prayer' when I got to the bottom step.

"Someone's in a particularly good mood," I commented.

She sent me a smile and told me to set up our plates and spoons and forks. I did as I was told before settling down. Curious as to what the cause of my mom's good mood was, I tackled the elephant in the room, "Mom! What is with the humming and smiling?"

She finished her forkful of spaghetti before exclaiming, "Gabby, we don't have to move until you graduate!"

"What? Really?"

"You don't sound too happy?"

"No, mom, I am. I was just shocked! That is great news, though!"

"And that's not all!"

"Mom, spill it!"

"Your dad's visiting for a month next month!"

At this, I couldn't contain my excitement. I squealed like a little girl getting her first Barbie doll. My dad has been working overseas for five years and his contract doesn't end for another two years. Luckily, he gets to visit his home country every two years.

"MOM! THAT'S WONDERFUL!"

It was rare that mom and I had dinner together on a Monday night. Usually, she arrives home late at night because of her heavy duty as a sales manager. It was nice that we got to chat about school and work. I told her about me tutoring Bolton and it was no surprise that she was happy. Mom and dad are great friends of the Boltons. They were together as a group in college. Even when mom and dad had to move around the States due to work, they kept contact.

The next day was a buzz. I woke up late and because I was in a rush, I forgot my cell phone inside the house. I didn't even realise this until I was in Homeroom, when Ms Darbus started ranting about the negative impacts and annoying ways of cell phones. Not to mention, I forgot to pack my strawberries! My strawberries! Pink, succulent berries that was sour at first bite but leaving a sweet aftertaste.

Lunch was not very appetising either. I had forgotten my strawberries, my chewy bar, and sandwich, therefore I had to buy canteen food. Top that canteen food with Bolton's and Heather Herald's saliva mixed, not the most appetising lunch time. However, thanks to Taylor, I was excused from the scenes of East High's cafeteria to go to my locker. I thought one of the popular kids had done something ridiculous to my locker as a prank. It turned out that the only ridiculous thing on my locker was three pieces of red roses.

"Someone must have mistaken my locker for someone else's," I muttered.

"No, Gabs, look, there's a note on the side. It clearly says your name," Taylor pointed out.

But who would give me three red roses? Did this person know that three red roses meant 'I love you'? Well, as far I knew. In English class last year, we studied symbolism and stuff. The most popular symbolisms of love were the colour red and the blooming red rose.

I pulled out the roses and opened my locker. I found an enveloped card inside that had my name on. Wow, second time on a row that I received a note from someone.

"Open it, Gabs!" Taylor gushed in anticipation.

"Will you go to the back-to-school game on Friday with me? Yours truly, your secret admirer," I read aloud from the card.

I looked around, curious to see if the mystery person happened to be about. I looked at Taylor, wondering if she knew anything about this. Apparently not, because she mirrored my look of curiosity.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well, what?"

"How are you going to reply to this person? Are you even going to the game?"

Huh, how _was_ I supposed to reply to this person? What is with people sending me notes that I don't even know how to reply to? Never mind those questions! Who was this mystery guy? It must be a prank from one of the popular crowds.

"Gabriella!" Taylor snapped, and waved a hand in front of my face.

"I don't know, Tay."

I was still wondering about the roses when I got to the music store. Lindsay, the owner's daughter, was still on shift. She is a tall girl with dyed red hair. Lindsay and I are great friends; she was a senior at East High last year. The redhead mentioned to Kelsi that they needed an extra employee to supervise the shop while she had her afternoon classes. So Kelsi in return, introduced me to Lindsay because I wanted to get a job.

The tall redhead greeted me, and then stood from her seat behind the counter to get her stuff from the back. She left a good fifteen minutes before a familiar customer entered the shop.

"Miss Montez, I did not know you worked here," the East High coach said from the doorway.

"Uh, hey, Coach Bolton. How can I be of help?" I fiddled with the handle of the counter drawer.

"Can you get me a red Gibson Stratocaster?" he inquired.

"Just a minute, sir."

I took my keys for the storage room, remembering that there was a Gibson Stratocaster inside. I just wasn't sure if the color was red. The room was full of boxes that I knew had different instruments packed inside. The stacks of brown packages were from floor to ceiling. I was cautious not to disturb the box, as I weaved my way to the back corner, where the stacks of guitars were. Carefully, I managed to get the Gibson model without it knocking anything off.

I reached the counter without trouble and typed on the register the product details. Coach Bolton paid and bid me goodbye. That struck me as odd that Troy Bolton and his dad visited the music store two days in row. In my nearly two years of working at _Brien's Beats _I have never seen father and son in the shop. Then again, Lindsay or her father might have been the ones to assist the Boltons previously.

* * *

_A/N: Hi, readers! Reviews are appreciated, so please do :) Thank you so much for all those who reviewed the previous chapters. Here are a few dozen cookies for you lovelies. I have a lot of ideas for this story but this will take a while. I will update three times a week, when I can. But get this, reviews inspire writers, so please review! Thanks, and happy reading!_

_Mwah,_

_sjustine98_


End file.
